Rank: Forum user 
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We have automatic opening vents in the roof of one of our warehouses but we constantly have battery issues where when we test the fire panel it automatically opens the roof vents and then we cant close them. This has gone on for years. Do we legally have to have the roof vents operational or can we disconnect them from the fire panel?
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Rank: Forum user
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Sounds like there's an issue with the interface between the vents and the alarm panel - I had a similar issue and it was an easy fix for an engineer.
Can you not get an elecrician to hard wire them in to the electricity supply and remove the need for batteries?
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Rank: Forum user
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If it says so in your fire risk assessment, then you can't disconnect.
There is a solution, I will suggest you look into that as opposed to the quick, easy fix of disconnecting it from the fire panel.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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The smoke vents should be inspected and tested by a competent person annually which should have identified this problem and the solution to it. I would imagine that the vents were installed for a reason and therefore I would not advocate disabling them. Put the right inspection and maintenance programmes in place and they should be trouble free in the future.
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Rank: Super forum user
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If the vents are required for life safety reasons (doubtful in a warehouse) then you must keep and maintain them. If they are there for building regs purposes, I wouldnt advocate disabling them. Their role is to release smoke and hot gases and prevent lateral fire spread within the warehouse and beyond. The venting of smoke also allows the fire service to enter at an early stage of the incident and deal with any fire.
How much would it cost to provide a hard wired system (with UPS back up) against the loss or significant interuption to your business?
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Rank: Forum user
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I'd attempt to establish why they were installed in the first place, are they part of the original building design, did your company install them or were they installed by a previous tenant to suit the particular use they were putting the building to? Are they mentioned in your FRA? Its certainly not uncommon for a previous tenant to install measures necessary for a high risk use only to move out later on and the new tenant blindly continue maintaining them without thought. If you think this is the case be absolutely sure of your ground before decommissioning them though, the history and reasoning behind installations in older commercial properties can be shrouded in mystery and can take a while to unravel. It may ultimately be simpler to fix them! Edited by user 01 April 2019 09:00:37(UTC)
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